How to Make A PDF Searchable

If you have converted a Word document or an excel sheet into a PDF format you can easily search the text in the PDF file. This is because the converted file retains the electronic characters in the original document. However, if a scanned image were to be converted into PDF then PDF OCR software would be needed to make it searchable.

Factors Affecting Conversion

When you use PDF OCR software to convert an image into a PDF file there are a number of aspects that determine the quality of character recognition. First is the image quality of the original scanned document. If the image is of bad quality then recognizing individual images and converting them into electronic characters becomes more difficult for the PDF OCR software. Second, if different fonts have been used and are of varying sizes then too it is a complex task for the PDF OCR software to convert the image into text. Third, if words have been underlined or italicized it can affect the quality of conversion rendered by the PDF OCR software.

How To Make A PDF File Searchable

Characters inside a PDF file can be made searchable by use of PDF OCR software. Such PDF OCR software analyzes individual images located inside the PDF file and then converts it into characters, which are electronically recognizable. In this manner, the text within the PDF file can be edited and pasted into a word processing software.

Searching Now Made Easy

Todays PDF OCR software generates searchable PDF files within a few sub-seconds. Many of the modern software available today have user-friendly GUI and multi-lingual support, making such PDF OCR applications truly versatile. In addition, some software even have the ability to reconstruct the page layout of a PDF file. One of the differentiating aspects of any high quality PDF OCR software lies in its accuracy. The ability to correctly convert images into accurate electronic characters is the defining aspect when choosing any PDF OCR software. Another significant aspect is the stability of the PDF OCR software even while processing bulk documents.